In short
Faintrail is a privacy-friendly session replay tool. It records the pages, clicks and scrolling of a visit so you can watch it back, but never records what visitors type. Email addresses, phone and card numbers shown on a page are hidden, pages you mark private aren't recorded at all, and you choose whether recordings are kept in the EU, the UK or the US. You choose whether it waits for consent, how many visitors it records, and how long visits are kept.
What Faintrail keeps
- The pages a visitor opened, and how far down they scrolled.
- What they clicked, named by the label they saw, such as "Book a call".
- That they typed in a field, and how many characters. Never the words.
- Boxes ticked and options chosen, outside any part of the page you hide.
- Whether a form was sent, and any error the page showed.
- A replay of the page as the visitor saw it, with private parts hidden.
What it never keeps
- What anyone types, in any field, search box or message, passwords included.
- Email addresses, phone and card numbers shown on the page; they're hidden before anything is stored.
- Private pages. Pages you list, and pages whose address carries a sign-in link or code, aren't recorded at all.
- Visitors who say no. When a visitor declines, recording stops in every tab and anything not yet sent is thrown away.
- Country, type of device and where a visitor came from. The log doesn't record them.
One thing to know: names and other words shown on an ordinary page do appear in the replay. If a page shows personal details, mark it private, or switch on "hide all page text" for the whole site.
You choose how it asks
- Wait for a yes. Nothing is recorded, or stored in the browser, until your cookie banner says yes.
- Record unless they say no. Faintrail records, and you explain it in your privacy notice. A no stops it at once. In this mode it sets no cookies, but it keeps a visit number in the browser's storage, which privacy rules can treat like a cookie.
- Off. Nothing is recorded.
You also choose how many visitors are recorded (one in ten to start with), which pages are always recorded and which never are.
Three ways to ask visitors
- Wait for a yesNothing is recorded or stored until the visitor says yes in your cookie banner.
- Record unless they say noVisits are recorded, and a visit number is kept in the browser's storage. A no stops it at once.
- OffNo visitor is recorded.
How long visits are kept
Replays are kept for 30 days and written logs for 90 by default, up to a year if you choose. When the time is up, they're deleted.
How long a visit is kept, by default
- Day 0
The visit is recorded. - Day 30
Its replay is deleted. - Day 90
Its activity log is deleted.
You can keep them for up to a year if you choose.
Where it lives, and who sees it
We host Faintrail for you, and you choose where your visitors' data is kept: on a server in the EU, the UK or the US. If you need another country, contact us. Your visitors' data is never sold or shared. Only people you invite can open visits, and they sign in with a one-time code sent to their email. Each download is noted against the visits it held, and nothing goes to an AI unless someone chooses to upload a file.
What we don't claim
We don't say Faintrail makes you "GDPR compliant". No tool can do that for you; compliance depends on how you use it. Faintrail is designed so that the careful choice is the easy one.
Questions people ask
Is session replay legal under GDPR?
Session replay can be used lawfully, but it depends on how you set it up: what you record, whether visitors are asked, what you tell them and how long you keep it. We can't give legal advice. Faintrail is designed to collect less: no typed text, private pages left out, data kept in the region you choose, and a setting to wait for consent.
Does Faintrail use cookies?
No. If you choose "record unless they say no", it keeps a visit number in the browser's storage, which privacy rules may still treat like a cookie. If you choose "wait for a yes", it stores nothing until the visitor agrees.
Does Faintrail record passwords or card details?
No. Nothing typed into any field is recorded, and card numbers shown on a page are hidden too.
Can visitors opt out?
Yes. Your cookie banner passes their answer to Faintrail. A no stops recording at once, in every open tab, and is remembered on later visits.
Can I keep the data in the UK or the EU?
Yes. When you set up Faintrail, you choose to keep your visitors' data in the EU, the UK or the US. If you need another country, contact us.
